Apply for up to £15k, open to schools and non profit organisations
The Medium Grant Scheme fund aims to support local organisations to create new jobs, learning, training, and educational programmes through the means of arts, culture, innovation, public realm and creative placemaking in Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets.
The scheme is part of the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, an ambitious five-year programme that aims to invest £10 million into the local communities of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest, and we are now pleased to be opening Year 2.
Year 2 has been designed with evaluation and feedback from Year 1 grantees to ensure that the process is accessible, transparent and allows applicants to make informed decisions, follow a simple applications process and gain additional support when needed.
The scheme will fund projects that focus on one or more of the following funding themes:
Employment opportunities
Learning opportunities
Young people
Business and entrepreneur support
The second round will open for applications on 30 September 2021 and will close on 3 December.
In Year 2, the Medium Grant Scheme pot is £330,000 and will award 20-24 grants.
In March 2021, we awarded 11 projects with a total of £160,000, for projects that work with the most marginalised members of East London’s communities, from a catering programme for disabled and deaf/hard of hearing women in Newham (Deafroots) to a theatre careers programme for school leavers in Tower Hamlets (Half Moon Young People’s Theatre) and from an employability programme for Bangladeshi and Somali women in Tower Hamlets (Streets of Growth) to an entrepreneur programme for vulnerable adults in Hackney (Shared Enterprise CIC).
Open to
Schools; not for profit organisations with less than £1.5 million turnover (schools and East Bank partners are exempt from turnover)Funding
Up to £15,000Apply by
03/12/2021 11:59 pmDuration
12-monthsOutcomes
Categories
Arts, Culture, HeritageActivities
Please note: updated guidelines will be reissued closer to the opening date.
The Medium Grant Scheme focuses on projects around the four themes of employment opportunities, learning opportunities, young people and business and entrepreneurial support within the four boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. Proposals from individuals, groups and organisations are all welcome.
Our Fund is about creating inclusive and sustainable opportunity — we are keen to back a range of activities and innovative ideas that drive the proposed outcomes. The Foundation for Future London is a strong advocate for the ability of creativity to enable levelling up opportunities and to be a strong contributor to the London economy. Therefore, we are keen to fund project activity that has origins in:
Equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the forefront of the Foundation’s grant giving. We actively encourage applications from all communities including Black, Asian and ethnically diverse, disabled, learning disabled, unemployed and/or low waged, people without qualifications, vulnerably housed, Gypsies and Travellers, LGBTQ+, children and young people, older people and people with mental health issues or long-term health issues.
We want to make sure funding opportunities reach a wide audience and serve to support locally rooted charities and community focused initiatives. We also encourage applications from individuals and organisations led by local people whose projects engage and serve East London’s diverse communities.
To get a better understanding of the support areas and beneficiaries the Foundation’s funding seeks to target, see our list of groups in our Guidance Notes.
Medium Grant Scheme projects will need to demonstrate a minimum of three short, medium, or long-term outcomes from our list of 13 short, medium or long-term goals that will lead to a meaningful impact for communities in the local boroughs. To see the full list, please see our Guidance Notes.
Audiences
Disabled peopleThe online application portal will open 30 September and will close on 3 December 2021.
Please make sure to read our Guidance Notes before applying. Please note: updated guidelines will be reissued closer to the opening date.
Grants will be awarded in January 2022.
Projects will start in March to April 2022
For help and advice, sign up to our Capacity Building Programme events, run in partnership with Lisa Stepanovic. The first one will be held on 2 September at 6pm on Zoom, book now.
Additional criteria:
For any initial programme queries or to arrange a call please email:
This includes access support for applying. We will soon have an Easy to Read version of our Guidance Notes on this page.
For any queries regarding the capacity building programme and workshops please email:
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